The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

pfizer

The manufacturer of Mylan’s emergency allergy treatment devices has been accused of failing to investigate hundreds of complaints over three years that the EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. failed to work properly, a failure that resulted in the deaths of several people. [More]

It’s one thing for a huge drug company, manufacturer, trade group, or media conglomerate to use their considerable coffers to fund educational programs, but what about when the ultimate goal of those programs is to just advertise products, movies, and TV shows to kids and their parents under the guise of education? [More]

If the giant pharmaceutical companies of the world seem quite big enough to you already, well, that just means you probably aren’t a major investor in or CEO of one. But the major investors and CEOs do think bigger is better, and so to that end two of them are merging to create an even bigger drug behemoth and take it overseas. [More]

Smokers using the prescription drug Chantix (varenicline) to help them through the quitting process may want to sip their beers slowly, as this week the FDA approved new warnings that the drug can change the way users react to alcohol. [More]

While Viagra is a medication taken for men, they’re not the only ones who could benefit from its use. The makers of the erectile dysfunction treatment have figured out that women are a valuable marketing asset, what with being half of a man-woman horizontal tango, and as such, have started aiming ads at the female of the species for the first time ever. [More]

Good news for couples who enjoy holding hands while sitting outside in separate tubs that have no attached plumbing — the makers of Cialis are going to ask federal regulators to consider an over-the-counter version of the popular erectile dysfunction drug. [More]

Unless you’re allergic to certain non-active ingredients or have you have an unusual sensitivity, generally the brand-name and generic versions of over-the-counter medicines are pretty much the same. Manufacturers keep adding innovations to coax customers away from generic meds, like a film-coated version of Pfizer’s Advil that is supposed to relieve pain faster. Does it? [More]

Two lots of Pfizer’s Effexor antidepressant and one lot of its generic form, Venlafaxine, have been recalled by Pfizer after a pharmacist discovered a different medicine inside one large bottle of the drug. [More]

Do you want all of the ease of ordering Viagra online, with none of the risk that you’re helping support a global spam empire? Soon, you may be in luck! Sort of. Pfizer, makers of Viagra, announced recently that they plan to sell the famed erectile-dysfunction drug directly to consumers, instead of to pharmacies through wholesalers. [More]

Plenty of us either know someone or are that person who runs to the doctor to get a prescription for the antibiotic Zithromax (azithromycin) to combat anything from bronchitis to pneumonia. The Z-Pak is a common choice for the ill, as it is taken for fewer days than other meds. But the Food and Drug Administration says it’s adding a new warning label to Zithromax due to a risk for rare but deadly heart rhythms in some patients. [More]

Want to know if your doctor is receiving free lunches and other perks from Pfizer, GSK or some other huge player in the pharmaceuticals or medical device business? Starting in Sept. 2014, that information will be made available to consumers courtesy of the federal government. [More]

The attorneys general of 33 states and the District of Columbia have reached a $43 million settlement with pharma giant Pfizer over allegations that the company ignored FDA warnings and made misleading marketing claims about its drugs Zyvox and Lyrica. [More]

When it comes to over-the-counter pain pills, many people don’t even think to look at the expiration date on the side of the bottle. But a new class-action lawsuit claims that three of the biggest names in the (legal) drug business are deliberately putting early expiration dates on their products to encourage customers to throw them out and buy new ones. [More]

The company that makes OxyContin has a good thing going, with lots of free PR from shows like Intervention and Justified and no exact generic equivalent to undercut its market share. But there are dark clouds on the horizon for the OxyContin brand, as its patent is set to expire in April. Now, in a ploy to extend that patent, the Oxy folks are going through the motions of pretending they actually care whether or not children can take the drug safely. [More]

Drug giant Pfizer will have to squirt out $60 million in order to settle allegations from the feds that it bribed foreign companies, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids companies from making deals by paying off foreign officials. [More]

Get it while you can, big drug companies! Pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca and Bristol Meyers Squibb are feeling a little panicky as the deadlines loom on patents for some of their best-selling drugs, so what do they do? Up the prices now, before those pesky generic versions arrive to drive consumer costs down. [More]